Jews 2nd Largest Religious Group in 115th Congress

The number of Jewish lawmakers increased in the newly elected Congress, with Jews and Hindus seeing the biggest gains among non-Christian groups, a report found, JTA reports.

Jews, who make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, constitute 5.6 percent of the 115th Congress — 30 seats in total — an increase from 5.2 percent and 28 seats in the previous Congress, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center published this week. The number of Hindu members of Congress increased to three from one.

Of the Jewish lawmakers, 28 are Democrats and two are Republicans. The number of Jewish senators and representatives is significantly lower than the 45 Jewish lawmakers who served in the 111th Congress in 2009-10.